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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's celebrity animal-themed float won the Sweepstakes Trophy, the top prize, in the 135th Rose Parade on Monday in Pasadena. This year marked only the fourth time the Zoo has ever participated in the storied event, which attracted nearly 90 floats — each hand-decorated by armies of volunteers with roses, flowers, moss and other plant materials. The zoo's float, ...

Grammy-winning singer and television personality Paula Abdul has filed a lawsuit against former "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" producer Nigel Lythgoe, claiming he harassed and sexually assaulted her during her time working on both shows.

Editor’s note: Annie is away. This was originally published in 2020.

New Year's Day now doubles as Public Domain Day, when a fresh trove of vintage artistic creations becomes available each year for anyone to use, adapt and exploit as copyrights expire. And at least emblematically, the big game this year is the first cinematic iterations of Mickey Mouse - the poster rodent for extended copyright protections.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Does everybody return unwanted gifts to the givers these days, or is it just my family and close friends?

VIOLA, Idaho – Susan Irvin, 72, stepped up to the microphone and drew a bow against her violin. Underneath twinkling lights strung in the rafters of this small North Idaho town’s community center, Irvin looked out at the holiday partygoers and felt nerves begin to creep in.

Shecky Greene, a high-energy stand-up comedian who for many years was one of the biggest stars in Las Vegas, died Sunday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 97.

Shawn Brigman was in preschool when he first caught a glimpse of the Spokane River. On a field trip to a museum exhibit of Indigenous artifacts with his class, they first stopped to see the massive waterway. As 4-year-old Brigman approached a ravine to peer down at the river, its roar rang louder and louder in his ears until the intensity of the water overtook him – a sensation he compared to an adrenaline rush .

10. ‘Good Riddance’ by Gracie Abrams

Dreaming' Wild, the Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift lead the year in review in music

Dear Annie: My 16-year-old daughter is relentless in begging me to have a sleepover with her boyfriend. She insists they are not sexually active and that she simply wants to hang out with him, watch movies and sleep next to him. For some reason, nothing I say to explain makes any sense to her.

And the answer is: Bromeliads.

Dear Doctors: I recently read about a woman complaining that her granddaughter eats very slowly. It brought to mind the condition I have called Schatzki’s ring, which is a restriction in the esophagus. I wonder if the granddaughter may have a similar problem. Could you discuss it?

Watching a good movie is great. But writing - or reading - about a bad one can sometimes be even more fun. Here are 21 of the year's worst films: dreck that couldn't even get two stars from our critics. A few of them are still in theaters. (How is that even possible?) The rest can be streamed, if you dare.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What’s the “right” time to throw away greeting cards? When friends or family send birthday or other greeting cards, I generally read them and then throw them away, to my husband’s consternation.

Dear Annie: Our 23-year-old granddaughter and her son live with my husband and me. Her boy is 3, and she moved into our house seven months before his birth.

The new year is nearly here, and, as is custom, we ring out the old by running down the very best bottles to hit shelves during the past 12 months.

When Atlanta’s Adam Reed and Matt Thompson conceived “Archer” in 2009, they pitched it as “Arrested Development” meets James Bond, an adult animated spy spoof. While most networks gave them a hard pass, they were surprised and thrilled FX gave them a thumbs up.